About Us - History

About SGA

East Carolina Teaching College was founded as an all-women’s school in 1907. Seven women came together in December of 1920 to form the first student government association. It was titled the Student Self-Government Association. Josie Dorsett was the first President.

By the start of World War II much of the structure of the student government had fallen apart. The student government association in 1934 was divided into two branches including one for women and one for men. In December 1942 a mass meeting of students came together to rewrite the constitution. They formed a new government called the Student Cooperative Government Association.

One year later in 1943 the male and female branches merged to combine both men and women into one governing association. In 1947, with the ratification of a new constitution, the organization was renamed the Student Government Association. East Carolina Teaching College became East Carolina College in 1951. On June 29, 1967 the North Carolina General Assembly renamed East Carolina College East Carolina University. In the years since a number of new constitutions have been written and ratified, reflecting the ever changing opinions of the student body in their effort to self-govern.

Most recently, in 2016, a new constitution was ratified by the student body, giving the Student Government Association a more clear outline and structure, while solving many problems of the past several years.

East Carolina UniversityEast Carolina University Student Government Association